Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi held talks on Monday, September 28, 2026, with Namrata Thapar, Global Director for the Minerals and Mining Sector at the World Bank Group, on ways to enhance cooperation in developing Egypt’s mining sector, providing financing mechanisms and building capacities.
During the meeting, held on the sidelines of the Egypt Mining Forum 2026, Badawi said the state is seeking to bring about a genuine qualitative transformation in the mining sector and raise its contribution to GDP to around 6 percent, compared with less than 1 percent currently, by creating an attractive investment environment and strengthening partnerships with the private sector and international institutions.
Badawi stressed the importance of translating cooperation with the World Bank Group into practical steps and implementable projects, noting that the targeted support would cover human capacity building, technical expertise transfer, partnerships, and contributing to addressing infrastructure challenges that could affect project implementation.
The minister outlined three main areas of cooperation: building capacities and developing human resources; supporting value-added projects, particularly in phosphate, fertilizers and related industries; and supporting emerging mining companies during the exploration phase and connecting them with financing sources and partners capable of supporting their growth.
He also stressed the importance of enhancing coordination among various government entities to address challenges facing investments, noting that the ministry is ready to work with investors and international institutions as one team to expedite procedures and turn mining opportunities into productive projects with added value.
For her part, Thapar, who is participating as one of the forum’s keynote speakers, affirmed the World Bank Group’s interest in providing initial financing to support Egypt’s mining sector. She said capacity building represents a practical starting point for enhancing cooperation, while expressing the group’s interest in supporting private-sector projects and connecting emerging mining companies with investors to expand their growth opportunities.
Thapar also pointed to cooperation with the Egyptian side in preparing a minerals roadmap that includes assessing geological potential and identifying the requirements needed to develop and exploit mineral resources, supporting Egypt’s efforts to maximize the economic benefits of its resources and enhance its integration into global value chains.
The ministry added that the two sides agreed on the importance of treating mining as an integrated value chain, beginning with exploration and extending through processing, manufacturing and exports, in a way that maximizes the added value of mineral resources rather than limiting activities to the production and export of raw materials.
The ministry noted that the two sides also agreed to continue coordination on identifying priorities for utilizing initial financing, preparing lists of targeted projects and companies, supporting emerging companies, and continuing work on the minerals roadmap to attract more investment to the sector.
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